


Hold Us Together

by mylilbirbs



Category: Original Work
Genre: (see necromancy tag), Angst, Animal Death, Canon Non-Binary Character, Child Death, Dungeons & Dragons References, Elves, Everyone Is Gay, Family Fluff, Fantasy, Fluff, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, Magic and Science, Necromancy, Other, Slice of Life, Temporary Character Death, its canon bc i wrote it, marcus uses he/they
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:47:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28081158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mylilbirbs/pseuds/mylilbirbs
Summary: Marcus wondered constanly how ended up so lucky, sure life wasn't perfect. But it was good. Of course he got too used to it all.And now it's just him and Liza, the kid he ruined his life for.
Relationships: Original Female Character(s)/Original Non-Binary Character(s), Original Male Character(s)/Original Non-Binary Character(s), marcus oc & liza oc, marcus/elsie, marcus/harper
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! I hope you like this! also please read the tags and warnings, we wont be getting into any of that just yet but since this is about necromancers that will be a big theme here. so anyway, be careful, read and enjoy! <3

Marcus’ life hadn’t exactly gone like he planned, dropping outta school to pursue ‘bigger things’ and turning out to be a failure wasn’t what someone would typically describe as success. But for a while he liked where he had ended up. 

He ended up working as a housekeeper for a bunch of nobles. Living in a neighborhood across the street from the rich folks where most of his neighbors were in a similar position. 

Did he think his job was a total waste of all his skills? Yes, definitely. 

Were most of his customers stuck up assholes? Totally. 

But Elsie and Liza made it worth staying. 

They were one of the families that he worked for, but they were different from all the rest. Maybe it was because Elsie tried to separate herself and her child from her family as much as possible or maybe they were just a little nicer because they had slightly less money than the rest of his clients. (as he always says the more money, the less compassion!)

Elsie was generally sweet to him, she did have the general ‘rich incompetence’ where she didn’t know anything about basic house chores. But she somehow made it endearing, with her genuine curiosity about something he found so mundane. Whereas many of his other clients were just pompous assholes about it. As he worked for her longer, he liked her more. She seemed to actually want to get to know them. She was funny, kind and idealistic. He tried not to be too friendly with clients but he had to admit; Elsie was making him bend those rules.

Then there was Liza, the kid was like 13? Being an elf he wasn’t quite sure with human ages but it seemed correct. He wasn’t great with kids, but for some reason Liza liked him. When he mentioned magic in a conversation he was having with Elsie, Liza’s eyes widened. They came up to them constantly to talk about magic, according to their mother Liza was quite interested in artificing, he was more of a necromancy guy himself, of course they didn’t mention that, being necromancy was a bit taboo not to mention a bit illegal. 

Elsie seemed embarrassed, and told Liza to stop ‘bothering’ him but he told her truthfully that it was no trouble. Having a smart, excited kid talking to him about something that interested them both was actually making his job a lot more enjoyable. 

Soon enough he started spending time with Elsie and Liza outside of his work. It all started with invites to tea, then walks, then soon enough he was eating dinner at Elsie’s home at least twice a week. 

His neighbors were rightfully skeptical, rich folks usually being so nice meant they were trying to rope you into a live-in butler situation where they’d trick you into signing some fancy contract and basically you were their servant like forever. At least that’s what he got from it, he wasn’t the best at ‘serious discussions’ 

He tried his best to listen to their advice, although he had to admit he had zoned out a bit he got the point, if Elsie asks him sign something, run. But of course, ever a fool his skepticism faded quite quickly. 

The more time he spent with them, he felt like he was a part of the family, and slowly fell in love with Elsie. And he usually wasn’t one to make to make bold claims but for a while he thought she felt something for him as well. 

It was nice, he cared for both of them and it was the first time since highschool since he felt like that care was reciprocated. 

Of course, Marcus is known for being a fuck up for a reason. He tried so hard but he eventually ruined this too. 

\--

“Have a nice night” Elsie wished him with a half asleep Liza by her side giving him a drowsy wave. He had come for dinner and stayed a little longer than he intended. 

“You as well my dears,”He smiled, he gave Liza a hug. And Elsie leaned giving him a kiss on the cheek. He laughed, still not used to that recent development. He gave the two one last hearty goodbye before running off to his own house. 

As he approached his place, he heard sobbing? After a quick look around he noticed the next door neighbor, Ms Steelbane was crouched over on her lawn. Crying. He frowned, he didn’t know her very well and while he tries, he’s not great with empathy. He considered just pretending he didn’t see anything but ultimately he sighed and walked over to the dwarven woman. 

He got closer and saw she was crying over her cat, he sucked in a breath. He never liked how the cat was allowed to roam about but Piper was a sweetheart.Part of him wanted to blame Ms Steelbane for the kitty’s death but he knew that wouldn’t go very well. 

She looked up, “Oh dear, I’m sorry for-”She took a shaky breath, “I gotta bury her- but I just can't.” She teared up, “Anytime I try- I-I can- I just keep crying”

“I could do it for you madam” He offered, he stared at Piper, poor thing. 

“You would?” 

“Certainly” He lied, he had an idea. Of course if it didn’t go to plan he would bury the body. 

“Thank you. You’re such a sweet young man” She wiped her eyes. 

“Not a man, but you’re welcome” 

He waited for her to walk inside and shut off the lights. He walked back to his own home, placing the cat in the freezer for now, he’d have to figure out something. That cat deserved better. 

He couldn't believe a cat was his breaking point, but Piper was one of the few things he didn’t regret.

\--

“You seem tense, you okay?” Elsie asked him the next morning

“Fine, just a bit tired” It wasn’t entirely a lie, he did wake up early to grab a copy of ‘Necromancy 101, How to make the skeleton army of your dreams _without_ pissing death off’ but there were a few other reasons he was tense. 

Elsie hummed, “In that case can ask you do a different job? I’ll pay you the same of course, but I need to run some errands, could you watch Liza?” 

“You don’t want me to clean?”  
  


She shrugged, “It looks good already, and Liza needs someone to talk to when I’m gone”  
  
“Well I always enjoy their company” 

She smiled, “Great! And thanks so much for being so kind with them.” 

He laughed, “Darling, I’m kind with everyone” 

“And that’s what I love about you” She smiled fondly. 

All he could do was smile in return, she gave his hand a squeeze and walked out the door. 


	2. Chapter 2

He went out to the garden where Liza usually was and to no one’s surprise they were there already. 

But to his surprise they were climbing a tree. At the very top, they wobbled trying to get something down from the branches.

“Liza! Liza, my dear, what the fuck are you doing?” He yelled

Liza nearly tripped, their head whipped around to look at him with a nervous smile. 

“I’m getting a branch? I wanna try to enchant living matter!” They yelled back.

“Why from all the way up there?” 

They shrugged, making them temporarily lose their balance. “It has no bugs and the least damage!” 

He sighed.

“Also I wanted to climb a tree” they tacked on. 

He groaned. 

“Just come down, you know your mother wouldn’t be happy with either of us if you got hurt.” 

“Nah.” 

“Nah? Liza, I swear- I’m gonna come up there.” He said through gritted teeth

“Ok” 

They pinched the bridge of their nose, “Please?” 

Liza shook their head, “Come and get me or wait for me to finish” 

He took a deep sigh, pulling up his hair. “Fine, but just know you’re in so much trouble”   
  
Liza giggled as he struggled up the tree. He finally pulled himself up next to them. 

“Hi!” They smiled at him. 

He groaned, “Come on”

They blinked, “Wait, can I get a branch first?”

He sighed, “Yes, just make it quick please”

They smiled, “Nice! Could you just hold it steady so I can cut it off?” They asked pointing to a branch

“Yes, of course” He held the branch steady while Liza rifled through their bag, finally pulling out a pair of small scissors.

“Dear, do you have anything a bit bigger?” They asked foolishly. 

“Yep!” They responded, they opened and closed the scissors and they practically tripled in size.

“You uh, never told me about that enchantment dear” He squeaked out. 

“You would’ve told my mom," and they weren’t wrong.They held out the large scissors, snipping off the branch with ease, and he caught it before it fell to the ground and handed it to Liza who stored it away in their bag.

“Now put that away so we don’t get stabbed climbing down” 

They hummed, opening and closing the scissors again and they returned to their normal size. 

“Ok, now let's go.” 

Liza nodded and started climbing. 

“Careful love,” He advised, when it was really him who should’ve been careful. 

He stepped down on a branch and it snapped, he reached for another branch but swatted empty air. He tumbled down, bringing Liza with him. 

Landing hard on the ground, thankfully next to Liza and not falling on top of them.His bag opened up, all of the content spilling onto the ground around them. 

“Shi- Liza, dear are you alright?” He asked quickly after they landed. 

“ ‘m fine” They groaned, rubbing their head.

“Are you sure?”    
  
“Yes! I’m good, I’m fine. It wasn’t a big a fall or anything” 

He sighed, “Very well.And I’m sorry for knocking you down” 

“It’s fine” Liza shrugged

He was about to argue that it was not fine, but Liza’s eyes widened.

“Ooh what’s that?” They asked, pointing at something that fell out of his bag. 

“Hmm? What are-” He looked to where they were pointing. His necromancy guide lay face up on the ground, revealing his illegal activities for the world to see. They would not be having that. 

“Nothing! Just some fiction.”He snatched the book off the ground.

Liza raised an eyebrow, and gave him that annoying little smirk they did whenever he’d fucked up. 

“You sure about that? Looks like a necromancy book to me” They smiled. “You never told me what your speciality was! Now I know why, you’re a necro-”

“Shut up” He said through gritted teeth, slapping a hand over their mouth. “I’m doing some research. Don’t tell anyone though okay?”   
  


Liza rolled their eyes but gave a nod, so he removed his hand. 

“You think I’m a dumbass?” Was the first thing they said.

“Of course not!” 

“Well I’m not, so I’m not gonna tell anyone. I don’t want you to get your ass arrested” 

“Language, Liza” He said without really meaning it, “But thank you. I don’t think you’re foolish, I just find myself being very cautious.” 

“Yeah okay.. Just if you ever need some help, you know I’ve got items you could use. Plus I could always make you something”    
  
“I appreciate it, but I’m just researching. No need to waste your magic” He waved them off, truthfully he could use some of their prowess but he couldn’t involve Liza in something like this. If they were to get caught, it would essentially ruin their future.

“Mhhm Yeah sure ‘research’ I got ya” They winked

“Don’t you wink at me. It is research!” He argued

“Sure..” and the brat winked again. 

“I said stop it!” 

They giggled, “Okay I’ll stop but you gotta help me with this enchantment”   
  
He rolled his eyes, “You know that I’d help you regardless” 

“Do you want me to stop or not?”

“Yes I accept your deal” He sighed

\--------

_ If you want to keep the creature’s soul intact you must understand that you will be at risk of violating the laws of life and death, no matter how careful you-  _ He groaned, letting the book fall on his face. That was the fifth fucking time he had reread that line and he  _ still _ zoned out. 

You know what? He doesn’t need a fucking book to tell him how to revive a cat. He had done plenty of research already. Why did he even grab that book in the first place? He knew what he was doing. 

He did not know what he was doing.He got the body preservation spell down mostly (Unfortunately he couldn’t save her right ear) but how the hell was he supposed to get the body in ‘working order’ he sighed, screamed into a pillow and pulled out that stupid fucking book. 

After hours of trial and error, doing so many surgeries that Piper looked like Frankenstein's monster with the amount of stitches she had. He wanted to scream. 

But with neighbors so close he held it in and instead just turned his usual forced smile to eleven. It’s the soul not the body that matters, they had to remind himself. All the body needed to be was functional enough to hold a soul, Piper wouldn’t give shit about how she looked. 

Now all he had to do was meditate on the astral plane to get the soul. So easy. 

The book told them that opening your curtains would help, he went to do that and flinched at the sunlight that greeted him. Shit.

He looked at the clock, he was an hour late. Fuck.

\--

He rushed into the house, sighed in relief when he saw that Elsie had left a note saying she’d be out for most of the day. His fingers brushed the paper when he noticed his hands and probably his face were covered in blood. 

Groaning he made his way to the bathroom, to wash himself off before his work. He looked in the mirror with a strained smile. Wow. He looked like shit. 

He sighed, turning the sink on to wash his face. Water mixed with blood streaming down his face he heard a loud gasp. 

Spinning around, he saw Liza staring at him with wide eyes.

“Li-Liza Hi! Hello darling! Good morning” He forced a relaxed look which made them look somehow more upset. 

“You’re covered in blood.”They said bluntly, with a confused frown. The silent words of ‘tell me what happened or I’ll kill you’ lingered behind their gaze.

“I had a bit of an accident this morning” He lied, “That’s why I was late” 

Liza raised an eyebrow “It’s not yours” 

He laughed nervously “What?”

“The blood. You didn’t get hurt anywhere. It’s someone else’s”They said cooly. 

He sighed, “I'm sorry for lying, It’s not mine. You’re correct. My neighbor’s cat passed away” 

“Were you doing some sort of autopsy?”And just like that Liza gave him an answer.

“Yes, similar”He responded. 

They nodded “You know you can tell me anything” 

He hummed “Of course darling but there are some things I’d rather not share” They frowned at that and Marcus sighed “There’s no need to worry dear, everything is alright.” 

Liza paused “Promise?” 

“Yes I promise” They said warmly, “Now I believe you were working on a new enchantment, correct? I’d love to hear about it if you don’t mind” 

Liza smiled “So remember those branches you helped me get the other day…” 

\---

Returning home after his work for the day Marcus found everything right where they left it. He double checked Piper’s body, everything would still work he confirmed. Now finally the final step, the soul. 

This was what he feared the most, the hardest and most dangerous part of necromancy was the soul. They forced a smile, it’d be fine probably. 

It took a while to relax enough to meditate. He focused on images of the astral like all of his research instructed him. For what felt like hours they wondered if he was doing it right, if he had been tricked and this wouldn’t do anything. But there was one thing they did know and it was that doubt wouldn’t accomplish anything, he tried his best to push those thoughts away when they popped up. 

Finally he felt  _ something _ , something odd and new. Like a hand pulling him forward. He tugged on the foreign feeling, it was like they were floating. The world went from dark to a blinding white to a dark space with little lights floating around. He was freezing cold, it felt as if his eyes had been frozen shut yet he could see clearly. Did he die in trying to get to the astral?

No, he knew this would happen. Calm down. They focused, trying to remember what the books had told him to do when reaching the astral. He looked at the floating lights in the darkness, they were all souls. He thought of Piper, what she looked like, how the cat acted. His vision shifted to a specific soul and a part of them just  _ knew  _ that was her. 

Reaching out the soul slowly floated into his grasp, they saw the darkness underneath himself shift. He could see his room, his limp body and Piper’s corpse. He took the cat’s soul and reached towards the body, the second the light touched the cat’s body it phased into it disappearing. Marcus reached out to his own body his hand grazed the skin and-

He woke with a start, his head was pounding like he had slammed it against a wall repeatedly. The world spun and he couldn’t hear anything over their own heavy breathing. 

Not even the meowing. When the world came back into focus he made eye contact with a thoroughly freaked out Piper. So he  _ didn’t _ just fall asleep meditating. 

It worked it fucking worked! He went over to Piper who hissed. 

“Hey it’s okay” He tried, making the mistake of getting closer to the upset cat. 

She scratched his cheek and hissed again. Though in that moment it didn’t even hurt, he fucking did it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you read this please kudos I'll love it, it'd be even better if u comment! :D

**Author's Note:**

> If you read this I'd love it if you commented since ik orginal works don't get a lot of hits. So yeah, lmk what you thought if you are one of the ppl that did! :D


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